First published 1995
Vernon Dumehjian Kherdian grows up surrounded by love and comfort in her Armenian family's prosperous home. The year 1915 arrives like a storm that will change everything. The Turkish government launches its systematic campaign to destroy the Armenian population, and Vernon's secure world crumbles around her. Her childhood ends abruptly as she faces the unthinkable loss of family members and the destruction of her community. David Kherdian channels his mother's voice to tell this personal story of survival against impossible odds. Vernon must find the strength to endure when everything familiar disappears. This account captures how one girl navigated the Armenian holocaust and carried its weight into her adult life.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, memoir, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, survival
Setting: Armenia, Turkey
Period: 1915
242 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Greenwillow Books
Content warnings: death, war